RECAP: Panthers 6, Stars 4 (Global Series)

TAMPERE – A hometown hero? A local legend? A titan of the town?

Whatever you want to call him, Aleksander Barkov has earned the title.

Playing an NHL game in his hometown of Tampere for the first time in his career, the Florida Panthers superstar captain racked up four points (one goal, three assists) in a dominant 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the 2024 Global Series at Nokia Arena on Friday.

Winning seven of their last nine games, the Panthers now sit at 8-3-1.

“This game is an NHL regular-season game, but for me it’s not just a regular-season game,” Barkov said. “For me to be able to come home, to come home to Finland and play here, especially in my hometown here, bring my teammates here and then play and score that goal, it’s an amazing feeling. I’m really happy.”

Scoring the fastest goal outside of North America in NHL history, Evan Rodrigues broke the ice just 28 seconds into the first period when he tipped in a point shot from Aaron Ekblad to make it 1-0.

Sending the crowd into an eruption of cheers, Barkov doubled the lead when he beat Jake Oettinger with a laser of a wrist shot from the high slot in transition to make it 2-0 at 7:11.

With is goal, Barkov became the sixth European-born player to score in their hometown during a regular-season game played outside North America.

“I can’t imagine being in their shoes and being in a scenario where I’m overseas and coming back home and playing in front of my hometown,” Rodrigues said of the team’s four Finnish players. “A big night for the team, and a big night for them.”

Slicing the deficit in half for the Stars with a little bit of luck, Tyler Seguin fired the puck off Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads and into the net from behind the goal line to make it 2-1 at 10:45.

Capping off a three-out goal outburst for the Panthers in the first period, Anton Lundell, a native of Espoo, Finland, tipped in a shot on the power play to make it 3-1 at 15:52.

“It was awesome,” said Lundell, who’s logged 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 12 games this season. “I wish I would’ve celly’d a little bit more. Overall, it was so fun to play here. I think the crowd was pretty good today as well.”

Just 1:32 into the second period, Esa Lindell responded for the Stars when he set up shop on the doorstep and tapped in a perfect pass from Jason Robertson to make it 3-2.

Netting his third shorthanded goal of the season, Sam Reinhart regained the two-goal cushion for the Panthers when he took a pass from Barkov and ripped a far-side shot past Oettinger’s blocker from near the top of the right circle to make it 4-2 at 6:07.

Leading Florida with 19 points, Reinhart has cracked the scoresheet in 10 of 12 games.

“I’ve certainly been put in some pretty good positions and taken advantage of it,” Reinhart said. “In different areas of the game I’ve been able to create some chemistry with Barky.”

Just two games removed from scoring his first NHL goal, rookie Mackie Samoskevich pushed the lead even further for the Panthers when he teed up a sliding puck near the top of the right circle and blasted it into the twine to make it 5-2 at 2:31 of the third period.

Earning his fourth point of the game, Barkov found Reinhart in front of the net with yet another ridiculous pass to extend Florida’s lead to 6-2 at 10:08. Given how often those two stars connect, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better forward duo in the NHL right now.

Despite the game being out of reach late in regulation, the Stars kept on fighting.

After rookie Mavrik Bourque slipped a puck just under Bobrovsky’s pads and across the line for his first NHL goal to cut the deficit to 6-3 for the Stars at 15:38, Jamie Benn tacked on another goal at 19:26 to make it 6-4.

By then, it was too little too late for Dallas.

Overall, it was a game and a win Florida’s fantastic Finns won’t soon forget.

“It was very special probably for everybody, but especially for us Finns,” Lundell said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous before the game. To be able to get the game going and be able to forget about everything was awesome. To be able to get the win as well was a very cool day.”

THEY SAID IT

“I asked him (Aleksander Barkov) if he lived near here. and he said, ‘About a mile.’ Both of his schools he went to, too. His life is right here in this area. There’s a lot of proud Finns tonight, from his third grade teach to his pee-wee hockey coach to all the people that had a piece in his development.” – Paul Maurice on Aleksander Barkov’s storybook game

“I’ll take it. I wouldn’t have even thought of something like that, but I’ll take it. It’s cool.” – Evan Rodrigues on his record-setting goal in the first period

“It’s exciting. You come out for warmups and when everyone is standing up it feels like they’re on top of you. It’s that European atmosphere. You’re happy when your teammates score, but when he (Aleksander Barkov) buries, when Lundy (Anton Lundell) buries it, it’s a little different feeling on the bench and on the ice. You sense that excitement and what it means to them. It means a lot for us to be here.” – Sam Reinhart on supporting his Finnish teammates

CATS STATS

- Aaron Ekblad is the second defenseman in NHL history to record two points in the opening period of a regular-season game played outside of North America.

- The Panthers are just the second team to score three goals in the opening period of a regular-season game played outside North America.

- Sam Reinhart is the only player in NHL history to record two multi-goal performances in games played outside North America.

- The Panthers improved to 3-2-0 in games played outside North America.

- Tomas Nosek won 55.6% of his faceoffs in his Panthers debut.

- Gustav Forsling blocked a team-high three shots.

- The Panthers led 12-4 in 5-on-5 shot attempts when Uvis Balinskis was deployed.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will try to complete an international sweep of the Dallas Stars when they return to the ice for Game 2 of the Global Series at Nokia Arena on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.

To follow the action, visit FloridaPanthers.com/HowToWatch.